In the city of St. Louis, the sports radio conversation starts and ends with 101 ESPN. At least if you go by the ratings. According to Nielsen Audio, the St. Louis sports station produced a 7.2 share in the winter book, strong enough to place them 3rd overall with Men 25-54 for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid). The station was also 3rd in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 7.0 share. Their numbers were up from last year during the same period.
Leading the station’s performance among its weekday shows was The Fast Lane with Anthony Stalter, Brad Thompson, and Jamie Rivers. The popular afternoon trio generated a 7.6 share to finish 3rd in afternoon drive. Just below them in middays, Dan McLaughlin’s program, and the team of Brandon Kiley and Alex Ferrario delivered a 6.9 to place 3rd between 10a-2p. Rounding things out in mornings, Randy Karraker and Michelle Smallmon also came in 3rd, producing a 6.8 share.
101 ESPN also got a big performance out of their evening programming. The St. Louis Blues move to the FM dial has paid dividends for both parties, with the 7p-12a timeslot recording an 8.3 share during the winter book. That rating placed the station in a tie for 3rd at night.
The city’s other sports radio brand 590 The Fan, KFNS wasn’t listed in this quarter’s ratings report.
Though we focus primarily on sports radio in our quarterly reporting, there was one statistic worth sharing from overall listening in St. Louis. The market’s top three stations with Men 25-54 are 105.7 The Point, KSHE and 101 ESPN. All three are owned and operated by Hubbard Radio. When combined, those three brands own 40-42% of Men 25-54 listening for the full week and weekday prime. That number soars to 47% in morning drive and 44% in middays. That means 40-47% of male 25-54 listening in the market is happening on one of those three brands. That’s a massive uphill climb for other local stations.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
